And here's the next installment of BtC!
Although it's short and somewhat similar to the previous chapter, I hope you guys enjoy Act 4 anyways! Hopefully, you'll get at least a tiny smile out of this.
Disclaimer: The characters are NOT mine. They belong to Matsuri Hino.
Behind the Curtain
Act 4
Forever
Summary: Time has never been a problem for them.
The lecture hall slowly fills up as students pour in from outside. She sees a flash of maroon from the corner of her vision and flips open her spiral-bound notebook before someone stealthily slides into the empty seat to her right.
She sighs and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Her golden locks are no longer bound by ribbons into her signature dual ponytails, but now flow freely past her breasts.
Even without looking at the newcomer, she knows it's him next to her.
"No class today?" she asks.
"I skipped," Shiki answers nonchalantly.
"World history?" She knows it's his least favorite subject.
He shakes his head, "No. I have Art Appreciation on Wednesdays, remember?"
"Yeah, but what are you doing here and not there then?"
"I'd rather study art in person rather than via two-dimensional pictures in the textbook," he smirks at her flirtatiously and then winks.
Rima is unmoved by his affectionate gesture. "People are staring at us," she whispers.
"Let them," he answers. He then drapes his arm over her back and rests his hand on her shoulder comfortably.
She stiffens, prompting him to stroke her shoulder. "Calm down, Rima. We're married," he reminds her. "I can do whatever the hell I want, whenever I want with my wife."
"It doesn't change the fact that you are attracting misdirected attention from the female population," she pouts.
"Are you jealous?" he arches an eyebrow.
"My classmates think I'm a cougar," she sighs.
"But you're younger than me," he points out.
"I know. But according to our human birth records, I'm a college senior student 'dating' a high school junior," Rima explains.
If she were to take upper GE courses at a younger-than-average age, that would have sparked too much attention; attention that was unwanted by their kind. Thus, Rima periodically fixed her 'age' to fit in with her classmates.
He frowns. "I would hardly describe our relationship with such an impersonal verb."
"We're trying to assimilate to the social norms of the modern era, Senri. This is the term that young people use nowadays," she reminds him.
"Well technically, it would also be immoral for these young people to desire my very young body," he reasons sarcastically.
She chuckles, "Age is just a number."
He sighs. She had just obviously contradicted her previous argument.
"I think they would be quite disgusted if they knew they were checking out a guy old enough to be their grandpa's great-grandfather," he laughs.
She doesn't share the same opinion, "No. I think that even then, they would find you incredibly attractive."
Shiki shrugs it off, "Our wedding anniversary is next week. Still worried about some competition?"
"Not really. You're already mine so there is no one to compete with," she says confidently.
"What if I like her back though?" he challenges.
"I'll fry the stupid bitch to ashes before you can even ask for her name," Rima grins. He has no doubts that she would follow through with such a threat
"I love it when you're possessive," he confesses.
"I love it when you insist on coming to pick me up every day despite your crazy schedule," she whispers into his ear huskily. She flicks out her tongue and barely grazes his earlobe before returning to her previous position as if nothing had happened.
The professor shoots a wary glance into their direction and the couple doesn't say anything until the class is over.
Rima tosses her notebook and pen into her purse as the students file out through the back doors. "Shiki," she mumbles.
"Hmm?" he turns to look at her.
"Our anniversary is tomorrow, baka," she tosses her bag at him and walks away with arms crossed against her chest.
He chuckles at her sassy attitude; he would have forever, an eternity full of more anniversaries, to make it up to her anyways.
End.
If you enjoyed this, please REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE, or FAVORITE so I can know your thoughts. Honestly, why would I keep on writing if no one even reads anyone? Even if you want to say "good job" or "this was cute," I would appreciate it more than nothing at all.
I used to do this for my older stories, but I decided to bring my review guide back for those of you who want to leave me some feedback but don't know exactly what to say.
Remember that this is completely optional and you can skip the questions that you don't want to answer!
1) Which Act has been your favorite so far and why?
2) Are the characters a bit too OOC in here? I made them more lovey dovey than usual.
3) Any ideas for future chapters?
4) As usual, please let me know if you spot any spelling/ grammatical errors.
Thanks for reading!